From the Inside

by blackwulf

Fae was a normal boy with a normal life. For the most part. And then he died. Normally one would expect to go to purgatory after death. But not Fae. No, he had the pleasure of being tossed in a world he recognized; a world of ninjas and mayhem. So he decided that he'd make the best of it and help them out. Of course, things don't always go exactly as planned.

1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters/settings/ideas. I only own my OC's

Beep

...

Beep Beep

...already?

BeepBeepBeep Beep

I swear I just fell asleep an hour ago. There is no way it's already 8 o'clock.

BeepBeepBeep Beep

God, just make it SHUT UP.

BeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeep

"Gah!"

I shot out of bed and whipped my pillow at the damned contraption. It merely fell off the side table and continued its torturous screech. Stomping over, I returned it to its place on the table then slammed my fist on the snooze button.

Silence.

Blessed silence.

...much better.

I was one step away from heaven (my bed) when the door to my room slammed open.

"NII-SAN~!"

Yuki. I flinched and braced myself for impact. 5, 4, 3, 2...

The second I felt her hit my back, I twisted and wrapped her in my arms. I hit the bed back-first with a silent 'ooph'. Yuki's small body wiggled around until two deep brown eyes were peering into my own. She stared for a few moments before breaking out into a grin so happy that it should be made illegal at this time of morning.

"Morning~ Nii-san~!" she chirped.

I offered my customary halfhearted glare in return as I gently scooted her off so that I could start getting ready for school. Yuki sat on the edge of my bed and swung her feet as I moved around the room in practiced routine.

"Yuki! Fae! Hurry up or I'll leave without you!" mom shouted from downstairs.

Yuki giggled once before running past me and out the door. I affectionately rubbed her head as she went by before gathering my things and following her out. Mom was waiting downstairs, breakfast ready and on the table as usual. Once I arrived, the three of us sat down and ate quickly and quietly save for the occasional giggle from my dear little sister. I had no idea why she was prone to giggling like that but for the sake of my sanity, that is a topic I left untouched. Who knows what horrors occupy the young female mind?

"Fae, could you pick up some groceries on your way home from school today?" mom asked as I started to collect the breakfast dishes.

"Sorry mom, I have Muay Thai after school today." I apologized.

"May tai, May tai!" Yuki chanted, completely butchering the name of the sport.

I gave an exasperated sigh but didn't bother correcting her pronunciation. She didn't get it the first fifty times I tried to teach her, why would she get it now? I started on the dishes as the other two finished getting ready. This was a regular routine for us. If mom cooked, I would clean and vice versa. It saved time and kept us both sane in the mornings

Mom shuffled back to the kitchen with a fully swaddled Yuki. "Can't you pick up some things on your way back after club activities?"

I glanced at her. "I could but I'd be getting home pretty late. You won't have the groceries till seven minimum."

"That's fine." she stated. "We have enough for dinner anyways."

I nodded my consent and dried my hands after placing the last of the dishes on the drying rack. Yuki, who had been trying to 'help' me ("But Nii-san, if there are less dishes, there's less work!"), clung onto my leg as I walked to the front door where mom was waiting.

I pried her off my leg where she was giggling like crazy (as adorable as she is, it's still creepy) and helped her put her shoes on.

"But Nii-san, why do we have to leave so early? There's still half an hour till school starts." she pouted as I checked the zip on her winter coat.

I smiled and tugged on the little braids on her hat. Yuki had to be the most adorable little sibling on the face of this earth! (And I am totally not biased on this). She was like a little ball of sunshine except without the hyperactivity and reckless tendencies. She just emitted this aura of gooey happiness that could turn anyone into a cooing mess. I loved her more dearly than anyone else (sorry mom!).

"You know it takes a while to get there Yuki. You wouldn't want to be late, now would you?" I said.

Yuki just pouted even more, her little cheeks swelling up and her lower lip sticking out in defiance. I chuckled and guided her to where mom was already starting up the car.

"We wouldn't have to leave so early if we could just Shunshin to school." she grumbled.

Shunshin; the ninja jutsu that allowed you to cover great distances in the blink of an eye.

I grinned. "You really want to Shunshin?"

Her eyes widened briefly before a smile completely overtook her face. "Yes!"

My grin turned slightly more manic as I suddenly grabbed her and held her up in the air. I ignored her squeals and mom's impatient honking as I tucked her under one arm.

"Alright then, one Shunshin, coming up!"

I paused for moment before taking off for the car as fast as I could. I opened the car door and dropped her into her seat before she could even process what had happened. Mom rolled her eyes at our antics and started the car.

"Wow! Nii-san, you're awesome! You can do Shunshin!" Yuki squealed when she had finally collected herself.

I ruffled her hair as she chattered excitedly about shinobi and ninjutsu. Despite the major age difference between us (I was 19, she was 8) we were still very close as siblings. She was my precious little imouto and I was her dear old nii-san. The major reason we were so close was because I absolutely adored children and therefore my little sister, who was related to me, got the best treatment out of all others. Because of this, she held me in some sort of idol worship as I had become her "perfect older brother".

But that wasn't the only reason we were as close as we were. One of the biggest factors that strengthened our bond even further was the manga series 'Naruto'. We both followed the manga religiously and occasionally watched the anime episodes for the parts we loved best. At first I had only started reading because Yuki couldn't stop talking about it. One week later, and I was hooked. I loved the characters, the plot, the intricate details, the action, everything!

Yuki was the same, if not a bit more obsessed. When I joined her in the obsession, she asked me to make her a training schedule that would help her become a ninja. Even though I knew it to be impossible, I humored her and made the ultimate timetable that included strength-building exercises, flexibility work, stamina, and speed. Then there were also the ninja exclusive things that I threw in there: ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. After all that, came the tracking, planning, theories, history and all that other random crap.

The whole thing was beautiful, and even included the foods that should be consumed for optimum nutritional value. I was actually rather proud of myself. Sure, I borrowed a lot of ideas from the anime itself, like the idea of weights for speed training (like Rock Lee) and the rest from Muay Thai but it was still essentially my work that put it together.

Which is why I had been horribly upset when Yuki gave up after the first day. Of course, she couldn't just leave it at that though. She'd seen how sad I was that the timetable I had worked on perfecting for so long was never going to be used so she decided to put it to use; on me.

Every day, for 1-2 hours, she would hang around while I went through the full routine that I had set-up. She insisted that even if she couldn't become a shinobi, it didn't mean that I shouldn't either. So in the end, I began training in the ways of the ninja. I even wore weights around my ankles and feet. The only thing I couldn't do was play with actual chakra. To make up for that, I just did continuous meditation as well as research into jutsu's and their different types.

Other than that, I studied and memorized all relevant information because Yuki would constantly throw random questions at me and sob if I got them wrong (thank god for Narutopedia!). I also created a new form of mixed martial arts that was based off of a mix of Muay Thai and whatever stances and forms I could discern from the anime.

Normally, one wouldn't go that far to please their younger sibling, no matter how much they love them, but it also counted as training for my Muay Thai classes so I continued without complaint. And after four years of repetition, it was impossible to deny the results. I was noticeably stronger and faster than before, as well as smoother in my fights. The only problem was that I would sometimes accidentally slip into my personal stances in the middle of a spar which usually resulted in lectures and punishments from Master Carano. Even then, the master himself acknowledged that I was now the top of my class.

I wonder how I would fare against an actual ninja...

Mom's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"We're here."

I looked out the window and saw my university getting closer. Quickly, I grabbed my bag and pecked Yuki on the cheek (she'd still been chattering) before sliding out the door. Jogging towards the front entrance, I stopped when I heard Yuki call out.

"Bye Nii-san~!" she called out from the open window.

I turned and waved back at her before hurrying inside.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

So hungry...

"-ae..."

When is this torture going to end?

"Fae..."

Geh, this guy can't beat me yet he refuses to stay down.

"Fae!"

Why can't he make my life easier and just drop already?

"Evergreen!"

And I still have to go grocery shopping after all this...great...

"FARORE EVERGREEN STOP SPACING OUT!"

I cried out in shock and stumbled into my opponent, taking us both to the ground. Pff, some martial artists we were. I clambered off my poor sparring partner as Master Carano stormed up to us, mentally preparing myself for the onslaught that was sure to come.

"How many times do I have to remind you to pay attention during a spar?!" Master huffed out when he reached.

I lowered my head solemnly as he continued. "I don't care how good your reflexes and muscle memory are! Laziness is the first step towards self-destruction..."

I groaned inwardly and shifted to a more comfortable position to wait out the storm.

After a good twenty minutes of being chewed out and receiving pitying looks from the other students, I was finally set free.

I grumbled as I stomped towards the grocery store. Why did I get yelled at more for drifting off when the other guy was doing so bad that he couldn't hit me even when I was in that state?!

I was so busy muttering soft curses under my breath that I didn't see it until it was too late.

One second I was walking down the street.

The next there was a horrible screech as a truck swerved to avoid a child that had run onto the street. I barely had time to register the metal beam that flew off the back of the truck and towards me before it hit.

And then there was nothing.